14
Jan

His story is one shrouded in mystery, almost lost forever, intertwined with secret societies, hidden codes, otherworldly theories and seemingly impossible inventions before his time.

In the fall of 1899, Charles A.A. Dellschau (1830–1923), a retired butcher from Houston, embarked on a project that would occupy him for more than 20 years. What began as an illustrated manuscript recounting his experiences in the California Gold Rush became an obsessive project resulting in 12 large, hand-bound books with more than 2,500 drawings related to airships and the development of flight.

Dellschau’s designs resemble traditional hot air balloons augmented with fantastic visual details, collage and text. The hand-drawn “Aeros” were interspersed with collaged pages called “Press Blooms,” featuring thousands of newspaper clippings related to the political events and technological advances of the period.

After the artist’s death in 1923, the books were stored in the attic of the family home in Houston. In the aftermath of a fire in the 1960s, they were dumped on the sidewalk and salvaged by a junk dealer.

In 1969, used furniture dealer Fred Washington bought 12 large discarded notebooks from a garbage collector, where they found a new home in his warehouse under a pile of dusty carpets. Art history student, Mary Jane Victor, was scouring through his bazaar of castaways when she came upon the mysterious works of a certain Charles Dellschau.

Victor immediately notified the Art Director of Rice University, Dominique de Menil, Houston’s leading fine art patron, who snapped up four of the books and promptly put on an exhibition at the university entitled, “Flight”. Charles Dellschau, a Prussian immigrant had finally been discovered, nearly 50 years after his death in 1923.

The Wright Brothers wouldn’t even make their famous first flight until 1903, but Dellschau draws dapperly-dressed men piloting brightly-coloured airships and helicopters with revolving generators and retractable landing gear. No records have ever been found of the Sonora Aero Club but Dellschau’s artworks hide a secret coded story. Whatever it was that he had to say was apparently too private even for his own notebooks and even today, much of the mystery has yet to be revealed.

A Mr. Pete Navarro, graphic artist and UFO researcher, heard about the “Flight” exhibition in 1969 and became enthralled. He believed there was a connection between Dellschau’s drawings and mysterious mass of “airship” sightings at the turn of the century across 18 states from California to Indiana. In 1972, he discovered that 8 remaining books of Dellschau were still sitting at the junk shop, unwanted and unclaimed. He bought the lot and spent the next 15 years obsessively decoding Dellschau’s work.

14
Jul

Dutch fashion designers Viktor & Rolf transformed broken picture frames filled with fabric into haute-couture gowns during their latest catwalk show, by taking them off a wall and draping them over models.

Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, who founded the Amsterdam-based fashion house, took to the catwalk to assist with completing the outfits in the collection live.

One by one, “paintings” hung on a partition at the back of the stage were unhooked by the duo.

“Art comes to life in a gallery of surreal proportions,” said Viktor & Rolf’s show notes. “A dress transforms into an artwork, back into a dress and into an artwork again. Poetry becomes reality, morphing back into fantasy.”

10
Mar

For St. Petersburg born photographer Anastasia Tsayder, moving to Moscow came as a shock. Accustomed to the classical architecture of the 19th century, she was surprised to now be surrounded by Soviet style buildings of the late 70’s. She took an interest in the history of the urban development of her new city and found that many of the structures were built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Around the time Tsayder moved to Moscow, the country was in full swing preparing for the Sochi 2014 winter games. Interested in legacy of the 1980 Olympic games, she sought out to photograph these now defunct buildings for her series Summer Olympics, as it may serve as an example for the fate of these single use venues in the future.

Shot on a twin-lens Rolleiflex, Tsayder’s intention was to get inside these often forgotten buildings to discover and document their current use, more than thirty years after they were built. Many of the original functions of these sports venues are lost.

27
Jan

Alice in Wonderland Fashion Exhibition set at the Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood

Lewis Carroll’s little heroine — and her personal style — will be placed under the fashion spotlight at the Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood in London starting in May. The exhibition, “The Alice Look,” marks the book’s 150th anniversary, with a focus on Alice’s character and wardrobe.

From images photographed by Annie Leibovitz for American Vogue and book covers designed by Vivienne Westwood to Liberty’s spring 2015 Alice in Wonderland-themed fabric, the exhibition will showcase a range of items that reflect the character’s influence on fashion.

Some 40 objects will also be on display, including sketches, designs, illustrations, ad campaigns and film footage of pop videos, and runway shows featuring Gwen Stefani, Avril Lavigne and Aerosmith.

“Not only illustrators, but the world’s best-known designers, stylists and photographers have restyled Lewis Carroll’s Alice,” curator Kiera Vaclavik told WWD. “Versace named Alice as one of his heroines. Westwood returns endlessly to her in her work. We are excited to be showing Alice as a style icon for the first time.”

15
Jan

In Russia, museum guardians are not the usual security men. Traditionally, it is older women guarding the works of art, sitting all day on a chair while looking at the visitors. It’s this what caught American photographer Andy Freeberg’s eye. “I found the guards as intriguing to observe as the pieces they watch over,” he says. His Guardians series captures the interplay between art and these devoted guardians themselves.

It takes devotion and a certain kind of determination to do this work, and the reasons why these women take on such a job vary. “In conversation, they told me how much they like being among Russia’s great art. A woman in Moscow’s State Tretyakov Gallery Museum said she often returns there on her day off to sit in front of a painting that reminds her of her childhood home. Another guard travels three hours each day to work, since at home she would just sit on her porch and complain about her illnesses, ‘as old women do.’ She would rather be at the museum enjoying the people watching, surrounded by the history of her country,” says the photographer in his statement.

14
Nov

Back in 1578 came the fascinating discovery of a network of labyrinthine tombs, lurking deep beneath the street of Rome. The tombs were home to the decayed skeletons of early Christian martyrs – believed to be saints on account of their bravery & unwavering support of Christian beliefs.

Many of these skeletons (given the name ‘The Catacomb Saints’) were then distributed across Europe as replacements for the countless holy relics which had been smashed, stolen or destroyed during the Protestant Reformation.

Once delivered, each skeleton was then clothed and adorned into a variety of precious jewels, expensive cloth, crowns, armour and even given wigs. They were put on display inside their designated churches as a reminder to all who visited, for the riches and wealth that awaited them post death – providing they swore allegiance to the Christian faith.

It sounds like a tale straight from a Dan Brown novel doesn’t it? Yet it’s all factually accurate.

So fascinated by the discovery and indeed the story behind ‘The Catacomb Saints’ art historian (& self-confessed relic hunter) Paul Koudounaris travelled all over Europe trying to find and document the status of each Saint. Amazingly many of the skeletons were yet to be put on display, still stored in containers waiting to be dressed and revealed to the public.

14
Nov

Hundreds of previously unpublished photographs and some home movies of family and friends are to give a new insight into the life and loves of Pablo Picasso. The extraordinary personal archive has been released for the first time by Picasso’s grandson, Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, to Sir John Richardson, the British art historian and one of the world’s foremost experts on the artist and his work.
Richardson, 90, who was a friend of the artist, told the Observer: “It is a mass of hundreds and hundreds of photographs which have never been seen. They’re a revelation. They are of all periods – fascinating when you compare them to certain paintings or events in his life. It opens up his life. It makes it 3D. Absolutely astonishing.”

The archive includes a personal photograph album and images from which the artist derived ideas. Through photography, he was recording aspects of sculptures in development, trying out ideas and documenting their creation.